Glass Algae

[Keeper]

Hey there

What causes algae to form on the glass and what can be done about it? I have a planted 5.5gal tank with 2 guppies and 3 tetras.

The algae on the glass is the one thing I have never heard of anyone being able to get rid of. Usually called spot algae, or green spot algae. It doesn't hurt anything, except your ability to see into the tank. Get a good glass scraper and scrub the glass as needed. my tanks twice a week.

[TankGirl]

Algae forms when there are nutrients in the water and adequate light. I have drastically reduced algae in small tanks with very small water changes every other day, but there will always be a small bit of it. Like CC mentioned, most people have to scrape algae, even the experts!

[Devilishturtles]

Or you can get a pleco to do the job for you

Correct me if I'm wrong, but planted tanks are more likely to form algae on the glas do to higher nutrients in the water. That could be the cause of your problem, but most likely, you are experiencing normal algae growth. Get a pleco or other algae eater and that should cure your problem!

[patryuji]

From all of my research so far there are no algae eaters that will eat the green spot algae (but I would like to try a rubber lip or bristlenose someday to see if they do eat it). Not even invertebrates...

It is believed that planted tanks succumb to green spot algae more often due to the brighter lights.

If you keep the nutrient levels in check and appropriate for your plants some say the green spot algae will subside in 1/2 a years time.

(The above information was gained mainly from searches on plantgeek.net, here and the internet in general).

[Keeper]

thanks alot for the info...i'll do the glass scraper and see what happens.

[TankGirl]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but planted tanks are more likely to form algae on the glas do to higher nutrients in the water.

In most cases the reverse is true - the plants should utilize all of the available nutrients, and leave nothing for the algae. That is why sometimes you will see plants being offered as "algae busters" because they grow quickly in lower light conditions, and outcompete the algae for nutrients.

However, if you have high light and are dumping tons of ferts in there but the plants do not have the CO2 or proper nutrients they need to grow properly, you are going to have an algae swamp!

Also, in regards to any type of algae eater, they will not keep the glass perfectly clean. They wander around scraping it off with their mouth parts, but they will never be like a window washer with a squeegee! sometimes when I don't keep up with the glass scraping like I should, you can see all the "trails" the snails and Siamese Algae Eaters leave on the glass. Nice clean trails, but they just meander around in random patterns. If you could get them to march in military precision, then you'd really have something!

My 90 gallon has a very good balance of light and nutrients, not a bit of algae to be seen on the plants, decor, or driftwood, and green spot algae still forms on the glass like clockwork.

[patryuji]

Originally Posted by corvuscorax

Also, in regards to any type of algae eater, they will not keep the glass perfectly clean. They wander around scraping it off with their mouth parts, but they will never be like a window washer with a squeegee! sometimes when I don't keep up with the glass scraping like I should, you can see all the "trails" the snails and Siamese Algae Eaters leave on the glass. Nice clean trails, but they just meander around in random patterns. If you could get them to march in military precision, then you'd really have something!

My SAEs seem to lightly nibble all across the surface of the brown stuff on the glass but never enough to actually make visible trails. They do seem to have a pattern whereby they cover an area fairly precisely in my tank. Any snails that I have which last long enough to eat algae (before being consumed) make squiggly trails with the most random of movements penetrating down to the glass. I just picked up an otto and that thing is an algae vacuum! It cleared off the lighter front and side areas of all algae and then proceeded to make a serious dent in the rear thick wall of algae. I think if I had more than one right now there wouldn't be enough algae for the both of them (I don't get anything but staghorn on a few of my plants so no brown to nibble off the plants...or the SAEs already keep the plants pretty clean).

[Allivymar]

The only algae eating animal I have that actually keeps the tank glass clear is my liposarcus (usually sold as a common plec). The only algae he hasn't eaten is spot, but he keeps the walls so clean that it never has a chance to take over. The otos, the algae eating shrimp, the flagfish pale in comparison; all those tanks I have to scrape.

[vega]

Just scrape my tank this evening too...

A magnet scraper is better than those stick one.

HTH

[ChileRelleno]

My Otocinclus get my vote! I have four of the little rascals in my 75gal and they have been veritable algae eating machines . All they eat is algae and other green material,but not your plants, they will starve if not suplemented with green food after they clean up all the algae in your tank. Unlike the CAE and Plecs they will never be destructive or obnoxious/ill tempered.

[patryuji]

Will any of them eat the "green spot" algae?

I thought I saw my oto giving it a try but it only seemed to eat the very surface of the green and left the majority of it there...that stuff is hard to remove with the felt covered magnet scrapers. I might have to put a razor blade on a stick to remove it.

[TankGirl]

My otos never eat any kind of green algae, and only at the diatoms when the tank was relatively new. Now I have to feed wafers and fresh veggies. That is why I wound up getting some bristlenose, in hopes of more maintenance!

[Mr Burns]

has the bristlenose worked out the way you intended?

[TankGirl]

Yes, they are constantly keeping busy, but they stick to the back and side glass panes, and are not seen on the front glass, which needs a scrape from time to time for the green spots. The best cure for my algae, however, was getting better control of my CO2

[BlueSkies]

hehe, sorry to barge in on the advice of a fellow Aq Ad member, but my problem seems to be along the same lines. See, I have had green water for the last 2 months. Only recently did I find that it was an algae bloom. I have been doing 20 % water changes every other day in conjunction with algae killer every third day. Results are showing, but it appears to recede back to original conditions by the second day. Is there anything else I can do? am I going about this the wrong way? Thanks so much,
Ryan

[purplestarfish]

I have a rubber-lipped pleco who actually used to eat spot algae until he discovered a decoration in the tank with algae (it only took him around four months, lol) so now he ignores the glass unless he just needs a place to hang on (so he doesn't eat it).

I also have a stick scraper thing; it's no fun to use and is inconveniently shaped and as such I plan on getting a glass magnet as well.

I found a cure to rid your tank of algae on the internet quite some time ago and it worked (but at the time I had green water, so I don't know if it still applies): you take a thick, such as woollen, blanket, and cover your tank entirely for 72 hours. Turn off the tank lights; you want no light to reach the water. If you have plants your plants will suffer and start producing CO2 instead of O2 because they will react as though it were night time, but it is, after all, only 72 hours. The fish will be fine. They can go for many days without food (although this isn't recommended, of course) and therefore will be able to handle this. Then take the blanket off and see if it's produced results. Often (as in my case) the algae is completely gone. If not, wait another 72 hours in which you return to the normal schedule and then repeat the whole process. Hope that helps and that the algae is banned (lotsa luck )!

[Menagerie]

BlueSkies--Welcome to AA!!
Check out http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=20424
It's what you are dealing with--over in the Getting Started forum.
HTH